A top presentation expert offers ways to galvanize your speech — in public and in meetings.

It’s no secret that public speaking strikes terror into many a heart. For some, even piping up at a meeting can induce anxiety. Bill Hoogterp, co-founder of Own the Room, has made it his goal to attack this scourge. Hoogterp, 52, began his career in the nonprofit world, and his sense of mission endures. His firm trains executives at companies like Facebook, Siemens, Visa, and Time Inc. in presentation and leadership skills—most of all, helping people to get out of their own way.

State governments will now have to bear either the entire or an increased financial burden to run half the schemes being rolled with the assistance of the Centre.

At least eight centrally sponsored schemes will henceforth not get any Union finances at all while 24 schemes will see significant cuts in central share with the states having to put in money.

The eight schemes which stand de-linked from central funding are — the National e-governance plan, Backward Region Grant Funds, scheme to modernise police, another to develop export infrastructure, the scheme for setting up 6,000 model schools, the National Mission on Food Processing, the Rajiv Gandhi Panchayat Empowerment Scheme and lastly, the scheme on tourist infrastructure.

The U.S. Federal Communications Commission has set new rules to regulate Internet providers. ISPs would be barred from blocking or slowing access to any website or content on the web, for instance to benefit their own services over those of competitors.

CLICK HERE for details about the concept of net neutrality and the FCC’s work to regulate Internet traffic

With the BSE Sensex gaining nearly 30 percent in 2014 and about 6 percent so far this year, investors are eagerly awaiting reforms in the budget, which is being billed as a “make-or-break” event for the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Based on a new calculation method, India grew 7.5 percent year-on-year in the last quarter and is on track to expand 7.4 percent in the year through March 31, but experts say the revised growth numbers are at odds with evidence on the ground.

Here’s a look at budgets between 2010 and 2014 — the hits, the misses, and how they affected the common man.

The 14th Finance Commission, headed by former RBI Governor Y.V. Reddy, has recommended a 10 per cent jump in the devolution of tax revenues to States to 42 per cent, in keeping with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s plans for greater flexibility to States. The total devolution to States will rise to 45 per cent of Union tax revenues in 2015-16.

In a letter to all Chief Ministers, the Prime Minister said the increase in resources given to States will give them the required freedom to tailor make development schemes to suit their needs.

The higher tax share to states would also have a significant impact on the Centre’s revenue and expenditure projections and the fiscal consolidation roadmap to be presented in the Union Budget 2015-16 on February 28.

The Commission has also recommended ₹2.87 lakh crore as grants to local bodies, using criteria of population and land area that would be divided into a basic grant and a performance grant. While panchayats would be given ₹2 lakh crore in grants, municipalities would receive ₹87,143 crore.

Though it did not award any special dispensation to debt-ridden States, the Commission has provided ₹1.94 lakh crore as a post devolution revenue deficit grant. This would help wipe out the revenue deficit of States like Kerala, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh.

The Commission has also suggested that the government should set up a GST compensation fund to pay States for revenue losses once the goods and services tax is implemented. The compensation should be given to States for five years, with 100 per cent compensation being paid in the first, second and third years, and 75 per cent and 50 per cent compensation in fourth and fifth year, respectively.